Week 16 Barometer

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It’s getting down to crunch time, where a fumble here or a missed tackle there, literally costs you your season. Most of the division titles are all but sewn up, but there is a logjam of eight teams in the AFC within one game of a wild card spot. Some key games with playoff implications this weekend include Cincinnati at Denver, New York Jets at Miami, and Philadelphia at Dallas.

We didn’t have a lot of wiggle at the top of our Barometer with most of the elite teams retaining their positions. Our big mover was Philadelphia who shot eight spots up the board after climbing back into the playoff picture with backup QB Jeff Garcia at the helm.

Recently, we asked several Cafe members to rank all 32 NFL teams from first to worst after Week 15 of the 2006 season. The average number for each team, based on their submissions, was calculated and the teams were ranked accordingly (to increase consistency, the highest and the lowest values for each team were disregarded).

Rank	Change	TEAM	Avg Rank	S l i m	S n i p e r	M a r t i n	B l u e	K n a p p	D a n
1 (1)		San Diego	1.0	1	1	1	1	1	1
The Chargers winning ways continued last week as they increased their streak to eight games with their win over the Chiefs.
2 (2)		Baltimore	2.5	2	3	2	2	3	4
Winners of seven of their last eight, the Ravens keep getting the job done. Will they rest their starters or go for home field with their game against Pittsburgh?
3 (6)		Indianapolis	3.0	3	2	3	4	4	2
Peyton and Co. had their way with the Bengals on Monday night. Is this team gearing up in time for the postseason, or will they relapse into the team from previous weeks?
4 (4)		Chicago	3.8	6	4	5	3	2	3
The one thing Chicago can depend upon, the defense, let them down last week and the offense had to pick up the slack. Will this help their confidence or was it a fluke?
5 (8)		Dallas	6.3	4	6	7	8	6	6
Dallas got back on track against the Falcons to retain their lead in the division. Now we get TO vs. the Eagles for the second time this year. Who wins this time around?
5 (9)		New England	6.3	7	5	4	6	7	7
They’re on cruise control after destroying the Texans 40-7. They get Jacksonville on Sunday.
7 (5)		Cincinnati	6.8	8	8	6	5	9	5
That was the least emotion I’ve seen out of a team in a “big” MNF game in a long time. They head to Mile High on Sunday with the wild card spot on the line.
7 (3)		New Orleans	6.8	5	7	10	7	5	8
That was definitely a shocking outcome against the Redskins. Was it just a letdown game from the big victory over Dallas?
9 (17)		Philadelphia	9.5	9	9	9	11	8	12
The Eagles are back from the dead. Jeff Garcia has stepped in for McNabb and played flawlessly. Can he keep it up against the Cowboys?
10 (7)		Jacksonville	11.0	15	11	8	14	10	9
Flip a coin. Seriously. There is no rhyme or reason to how they play.
11 (13)		Denver	11.8	10	15	14	9	13	10
Denver faces a gut check against the visiting Bengals where the loser probably misses the postseason.
12 (11)		Seattle	13.0	11	13	23	17	11	11
Seattle is backing into the playoffs in a bad way after back-to-back losses to Arizona and San Francisco. Do they have a prayer against San Diego?
13 (10)		NY Giants	13.3	13	10	11	16	15	14
Despite losing five out of six, the Giants are still very much in the wild card race with two to go.
14 (20)		Pittsburgh	14.0	12	19	12	10	14	18
The Steelers are coming on strong to end the season, and it looks like they have a shot at playing spoiler as they get Baltimore and Cincy to end the year.
15 (18)		NY Jets	14.5	16	12	15	15	12	17
The Jets are still fighting for a wild card spot at 8-6. Can they sweep the Dolphins to stay alive for another week?
16 (12)		Kansas City	16.3	14	22	13	20	18	13
The Chiefs are on the outside of the playoff picture at 7-7 due to their three game losing streak. They’ll need help to get back in.
17 (16)		Tennessee	16.8	17	18	16	12	16	19
Vince has led the team to a 7-4 record and has completed over 60% of his passes over the last month. Can he take the Titans over .500 for the first time all season against Buffalo?
18 (18)		Buffalo	18.5	18	20	17	13	19	24
The Bills are finally back to .500 after winning four out of five. Can they slow down Vince and the Titans?
18 (15)		Miami	18.5	21	17	18	18	25	15
Did Buffalo get ahold of Miami’s audio tapes last week?
20 (14)		Atlanta	18.8	19	14	21	19	17	20
Still in the wild card hunt, the Falcons need wins over Carolina and Philly to make a postseason run.
21 (24)		San Francisco	20.3	20	16	28	22	23	16
They swept Seattle. Unbelievable.
22 (27)		Washington	21.3	22	21	24	21	21	21
OK, maybe we were a little harsh on the Redskins. Their schedule has been brutal. Now they better not go and lay an egg in St. Louis.
23 (22)		Minnesota	23.0	25	23	19	26	22	22
We get our first look at rookie QB Tarvaris Jackson tonight. You dynasty owners may want to keep an eye on him as a long term project.
24 (21)		Carolina	23.8	24	24	20	23	24	25
They’ve lost four straight and are just playing for pride now.
24 (23)		St. Louis	23.8	23	25	25	24	20	23
They looked good against the Raiders. Can they keep it up against the ‘Skins?
26 (25)		Green Bay	25.8	26	27	22	25	26	26
We can’t say for sure, but this could be Brett’s last game at Lambeau. I’d say it’s fair to say he’ll get a standing ovation tonight regardless.
27 (25)		Arizona	27.3	27	28	26	27	27	29
Can the Cardinals go 4-2 in their division with a win over the 49ers?
28 (29)		Cleveland	28.5	29	29	27	29	29	27
With their loss last week, they dropped to 0-6 in their division. Can the Browns give their fans something to cheer about with a win over Tampa Bay?
29 (27)		Houston	29.0	31	31	29	28	28	28
They were destroyed by the Pats 40-7 despite only being outgained by 30 yards. I suppose the four interceptions played a role in that.
30 (30)		Tampa Bay	29.8	28	26	30	32	30	31
The Bucs, obviously rattled by my comment last week, went out and put up 31 points on Chicago. That’s their highest point total all season, and more than they scored the previous three weeks combined.
31 (31)		Oakland	31.0	30	30	31	31	32	32
After being shut out for the third time this season by a woeful Ram defense, can it get much worse in Oakland?
32 (32)		Detroit	31.3	32	32	32	30	31	30
Another year, another high draft pick in Detroit.

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